Today is the last Sunday of the Church year. Next Sunday we will begin the new Church year with the first Sunday of the Advent season that, even as it leads up to Christmas and Christ’s first Advent, looks forward to Christ’s return and final Advent. So, today, as a fitting end to the Church year, all the readings focus …

In our Gospel reading for today (Mark 13:1-13), Jesus tells his disciples: “… be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. And when …

I recently posted a new (the first, actually) article at the St. Polycarp Journal site. I’m hoping to grow the site into something helpful and edifying for the Church, so you have to start somewhere! Here’s the link to the article: http://stpolycarpjournal.com/the-regula-fidei-and-its-implications-for-sola-scriptura/

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, 1872-1918 In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place, and in the sky, The larks, still bravely singing, fly, Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the dead; short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we …

The Old Testament and Gospel readings today revolve around widows, particularly the contrast between these widows and people who are rich and powerful (1 Kings 17:8-16 and Mark 12:38-44). In 1 Kings, we read about Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. Right before our reading for today, Elijah had announced the Lord Yahweh’s judgment against Israel for its unfaithfulness to …

Today we celebrate All Saints’ Sunday and remember all those who have gone before us in the faith. We follow in the footsteps of the Church since Christ’s ascension and therefore stand here today with our ancestors in the faith behind us and with our descendants yet before us in the future. The Church is not only the collection of …

Today is All Saints’ Day when we remember all those who have gone before us in the faith. We follow in the footsteps of the Church since Christ’s ascension and therefore are here now with our ancestors in the faith behind us and with our descendants yet before us in the future. The Church is not only the collection of God’s people …

The human eye is pretty amazing. Each of your eyes has about 120 million rods and 7 million cones. The rods are more sensitive, but can only detect shades of gray and so are used for night vision. The cones are used for color detection and daylight vision. With them you can perceive depth and size as well as see …

Have you ever seen the TV show called “Dirty Jobs?” It’s a reality show that was on the Discovery Channel and stars a guy named Mike Rowe, who then later started a show called “Somebody’s Gotta Do It,” which has a similar theme, and now he has a great podcast. In every episode of Dirty Jobs, Mike participates in doing …

Have you ever seen a child clean their room after their parents told them to go clean it? When they think they’re done, their parents go to inspect their room, and it still looks like a disaster area. I can remember being a kid and doing the same thing. My standard of “clean” was not the same standard that my …